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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. land — ground
  3. chip — for betting
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. tear — from crying
  8. current — happening now
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. tear — to rip
  12. current — electric
  13. pit — a hole
  14. land — to come down
  15. chip — to eat
  16. pit — in a race
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. land — a country
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pitch — completely
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. chip — in a computer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com